Browsing by Author "Tladi, Mathilda"

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    The relationship between income and well-being: an empirical analysis of variability in two South African samples
    (2026) Tladi, Mathilda; Meyer, Ines
    Minimum wages exist in many countries to ensure the welfare of employees at the low end of the income spectrum. Numerous studies have supported the idea that greater income links with greater wellbeing. Many of these have explored the shape of the income-wellbeing relationship. Shifting the focus from the relationship shape to the spread of wellbeing data across low to middle income earners in South Africa, the purpose of the current study was to investigate how variability in wellbeing scores across income levels contribute to the relationship between income and wellbeing? Participants included a total of 2,679 South African employees drawn from two separate studies. The first dataset, from the Cape Town municipality, comprised of 679 participants, while the second dataset from the South African National Living Wage study, included 2,000 participants. Linear mixed effect modelling was utilised to analyse the data. To test for differences in the variability of wellbeing scores in different income groups, descriptives statistics together with Levine's, Fligner-Killeen, and Barlett's tests were employed. The findings were the same in both samples: A positive relationship between income and wellbeing best described the data and there was a statistically significant difference in wellbeing variability scores across income levels. The lowest variability in wellbeing occurred among the highest earners and the largest variability among the lowest earners. The findings suggest that the positive relationship between income and wellbeing may be driven less by increasing wellbeing with higher income, and more by the absence of low wellbeing among those with higher incomes. Although the study cites stress as a plausible explanation for the difference observed, this assumption should be explored empirically in future research. The results also highlight the importance of addressing financial stress among low-income earners, as reducing variability in wellbeing can protect against poor health and productivity outcomes. For organisations this underscores the value of investing in higher wage structures in fostering, increased engagement, reduced absenteeism, and strengthen retention in organisations. For policymakers, the results point to the need for minimum income thresholds that go beyond subsistence, ensuring workers can meet basic needs and pursue goals beyond survival. Future interventions should focus on creating income structures that not only alleviate poverty but also foster equitable and sustainable wellbeing across income groups. Finally, the results indicate a nuanced relationship between education, age, gender, and wellbeing, with the two datasets revealing some conflicting trends. Overall, higher levels of education were generally associated with improved wellbeing, as individuals with greater educational attainment tended to report a higher quality of life. However, the relationship between age and wellbeing was more complex. In the South African National Living Wage dataset, wellbeing decreased until around age 40, after which it began to rise. In contrast, the Cape Town Municipality data showed a negative linear relationship, with older participants reporting lower levels of wellbeing. The results also revealed conflicting conclusion with female participants reporting higher levels of wellbeing in the Cape Town Municipality dataset and males reporting higher levels of wellbeing compared to their female counterparts in the South African National dataset.